


The 45 Minute Window of Opportunity

by Jack-and-Ianto-Hiddleston (LANO7070)



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Panic Attacks, Past Relationship(s), References to Cheating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-24
Updated: 2016-06-24
Packaged: 2018-07-16 12:32:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7268401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LANO7070/pseuds/Jack-and-Ianto-Hiddleston
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I like looking for writing prompts and I came across this one that I thought suited Cullrian.<br/>"You’re a store clerk and fuck, is that my ex? Can I please hide behind this counter?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	The 45 Minute Window of Opportunity

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first published Cullrian fic. Essentially my first published fic on AO3 ever. I hope you like it and if you find any grammatical or punctuation errors please let me know. Feel free to comment below with any constructive criticism. Please and thank you.

Today had started out slow. It gradually built up by midday and was now dropping as the work day was drawing to a close. Just another normal day in the costume shop. Cullen was standing behind the counter and slouching against the bench with his head in one hand. His eyes were getting droopy and he let out a rather big, loud yawn which broke the seemingly never ending silence of the empty store. He could go and make sure all the costumes were on the right hanger or check if they were hanging correctly in general but he did that only an hour ago when he was in the same monotonous predicament he was in now. The store was meant to close in just under forty-five minutes but he wished he could close it right this very second. However, Cullen was well aware of one very important fact, he was not the store owner and the decision was not his to close up shop early. Turns out though, that waiting until closing time would work out well for him in the long run. What was about to happen to him would never have happened if he had closed the store 45 minutes early. 

** 

Dorian had been waiting outside the café for what had only really been 20 minutes but had felt to him like hours. He didn’t know why he agreed to meet Rilienus. They had broken up a couple of days ago, then again, this was the fifth time they had broken up over the last three years. The man was a serial cheater. When Dorian caught him he would storm out of room, Rilienus would wait a couple of days to let Dorian cool down a bit then proceed to apologise profusely, beg him to give him another chance and then seduce him back into bed. He would then wait until Dorian was happy again and expressing his love for Rilienus, then after a few months’ cheat again. Wet. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Dorian didn’t know why he kept going back to him. Did he really have such low self-esteem? So, again, he decided to leave. But this time it would be for good. If Rilienus tried to contact him Dorian would give him a piece of his mind and never see the man again. Dorian crossed over to the other side of the road and began walking down the street, glancing in the windows of the shops as he passed them. After a few minutes of walking he saw that Rilienus was walking in his direction. He was texting someone with a satisfied smirk on his face. After a few moments he looked up from his phone and looked right at him. When he saw Dorian his face changed from that horrible smirk to looking surprised. He heard him call out “Dorian?” as he came closer and closer to Dorian. Dorian, very upset at the other man, quickly ducked into the nearest store to get away from the approaching man, the bell above the door ringing. It turned out he had entered a costume shop. It was full of bright clothing. From where he stood there were hats and masks mounted on the walls, and mannequins dressed up in medieval dress. He looked around frantically and seeing no one in the general vicinity, Dorian ran towards the counter and climbed over, huddling behind it, hiding himself from the entrance to the store. 

**

Cullen left the counter unattended for no more than five minutes as he went to the bathroom, only to return to see a frazzled looking man, about the same age as him, with jet-black hair and a ridiculous looking, though perfectly sculpted moustache, bunched up on the floor behind the counter with his knees pulled to his chest and his arms wrapped around them. He looked panicked and was looking around anxiously. Cullen approached the man slowly and crouched down to be at his eye level.

“Hey, are you okay?” Cullen asked the man as gently as he could.

The man’s head whipped in his direction, shocked at Cullen’s sudden appearance. After a few seconds, he visibly relaxed. “I’m fine. I’m so sorry. I just saw someone outside I really didn’t want to speak with and your store was the closest place to hide.” The man had a peculiar accent, posh but modest. His voice was smooth and Cullen found that he could listen to it all day if it were possible. His eyes began to roam over Cullen and soon a smirk took over his face, making Cullen blush in the process. “I’m Dorian” came that smooth voice again, his hand held out for Cullen to shake. Cullen took it and shook it for a few seconds longer than was probably necessary. He didn’t say anything. Dorians smirk turned playful as he prompted “and you are?” 

“Oh, um yes. Well I’m C… Cullen.” He could feel his face going warm and knew his face was going bright red as he stuttered out his name. He tried again, “My name’s Cullen.”  
“An absolute pleasure to meet you Cullen.” Dorian replied. 

Just then the door burst open, the bell above the door sounding off a persistent ding-ding. At the sound Cullen stood up to face the new customer standing in the entrance, looking around frantically. He was tall, dark, and handsome but he had no real stand out qualities. Not like Dorian.

“Hey did you see a man with dark hair and a moustache come in here?” The man asked Cullen when he saw him stand up at the counter. 

So this was the person that Dorian was hiding from. Cullen didn’t exactly know why but he replied “No, sorry. The store’s been empty apart from me for about an hour.”

**

When Dorian heard that voice he reverted to his panicked state again. He wrapped his arms tighter around himself and ducked his head down between them. He found it hard to breathe. He really didn’t want to speak with Rilienus right now. He had been hurt by him far too many times now, and he couldn’t stand it anymore. He could faintly hear Cullen talking to him, his last words breaking through the thick fog in his mind. 

“Oh…sorry for barging in. Thanks anyway.” Rilienus conceded. Dorian then heard the bell above the door sound again, hoping that meant Rilienus had left the store. He didn’t begin to relax until he saw Cullen crouching down next to him again. 

“He’s gone. It’s alright, the coast is clear.” Cullen’s voice was so calm and soothing. 

Dorian began to unclench his muscles that had seized up. He didn’t realise how tense he was until he suddenly realised that his head had fallen into the space between Cullen’s neck and shoulder. He let it rest there, taking in deep breaths as he did. He wanted to lift his head and put some distance between him and his savior but he found he just couldn’t move. 

**

Cullen froze as Dorian’s head made contact with his shoulder. He stayed still as he felt Dorian’s warm breath on his neck. When he realised that the distressed man’s head would not move, could not move, he began to shit slowly and carefully until he was properly sitting on the floor. He was still shocked at his current situation, however he realised that Dorian must have been through something horrible. The man who had come into the shop after Dorian had obviously hurt him and felt no remorse. Cullen had looked at his face when he left. The man should have looked sad or even worries but after Cullen had denied Dorian’s presence, his face morphed into an expression of indifference. So he let Dorian rest his head for a few moments. He let him take some deep breaths to calm himself. Cullen brought his arms around him and began to rub the arm furthest from him. “It…It’s alright Dorian. You’re safe now” he found himself reassuring him, gently rocking the man. 

**

Dorian finally lifted his head, only to find himself staring into Cullen’s warm brown eyes. For what could possibly be the very first time in his romantic life, he found himself blushing and bashfully ducking his head. “I’m so sorry Cullen. I didn’t mean to cause you any trouble.”

“It was no problem Dorian, honestly.” He rubbed his arm again, comforting Dorian after his frantic apology. “I know I don’t know you very well, or even at all, but whatever he did had you scared and I wasn’t going to stand for that. There was no way that I was going to reveal you.” 

Dorian’s eyes had filled with tears as he listened to Cullen’s declaration. Once again he found himself curling into Cullen’s side, this time his arms coming around Cullen’s waist and squeezing him appreciatively. He shocked himself when he also started babbling his gratitude to the blonde man “thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you.” 

He remained wrapped around Cullen for another couple of minutes until he had calmed down enough to recompose. After carefully detaching himself from Cullen he straightened out his clothes, ran his fingers over his moustache and patted his perfectly styled black hair to make sure it hadn’t been ruined. 

**

Cullen looked to Dorian. The man looked happier. Remnants of panic still remained in his striking grey eyes but relief was what shone through his smile. He was beautiful. It was the first word that came to Cullen’s mind about Dorian. He couldn’t stop staring at him. Despite Dorian’s predicament, Cullen was incredibly glad that Dorian chose his store to hide in. He had been having a horrible afternoon and was impatient for closing time to arrive. However, if he had closed early he would have missed this man figuratively falling right into his lap. He couldn’t have him hiding in another shop, and meeting someone else. Cullen knew that he didn’t do this often, actually he never did this but he decided to work up his courage and ask the beautiful man out on a date. “Dorian, I know it’s sudden, and you’ve just been through a horrible situation but…um…I was… um…wondering if…” his voice froze in his throat. “If…if…you would like to…you know?” What was that? What the hell was that Cullen? He thought, more like screamed to himself in his mind. His face felt like it was burning. Surely it was on fire? He ducked his head in shame.

**

Dorian was at first shocked then amused at Cullen asking him out. He hadn’t even formed the words properly but Dorian knew what he was asking. The handsome blonde haired man was so adorable. He had been so forward with his kindness and protectiveness towards Dorian after Rilienus’ appearance in the store, but now that the air had cleared of any panic the man became a blushing, stuttering mess. It was sweet. Noticing that Cullen was embarrassed after his question, he decided to take pity on the man. He nudged Cullen’s chin from where it was tucked into his chest, gently stroking his thumb over his cheek when he finally lifted his eyes. They were a lovely golden colour, so expressive. “I would love to go on a date with you Cullen” he said, ensuring that his smile was gentle. Reaching for his phone in his pocket, then creating a new contact he handed the phone to Cullen to enter his number. When he handed the phone back Dorian sent him a text “Hello my dear Lion, protector of damsels in distress” and tucked the phone back into his pocket. He stood up, offering his hand to Cullen to help him up. He took it, pulling himself up then from getting up too quickly he stumbled, so Dorian steadied him with his hands braced on his upper arms. They stood there like that for a few moments, just basking in the others closeness, then Dorian rose slightly onto his toes and brushed a soft but lingering kiss to Cullen’s slightly stubbled cheek. “I should probably be getting home now. Thank you, again, for your help Cullen. I’ll call you, or you could call me, but soon so we can plan our date.” 

**

“Yeah…I’ll call you” he agreed, blushing like a ripe tomato, but since he was feeling brave today he bent over slightly and brushed a soft kiss to Dorian’s soft cheek in response to the one he had received. Dorian pulled away and began walking to the entrance to the store. He pulled open the door, turned, and gave a brief wave and a happy smile to Cullen. As Cullen watched Dorian walk away he reflected on how he got so lucky that day. He was glad that he didn’t have the authority to close up early. 


End file.
